Uruguay President: Treat Pot-Smokers Like Cattle

Uruguay President José Mujica tells Fox News that Uruguay's new law legalizing marijuana is better than Colorado's new law. Why? Because in Uruguay, they regulate users, not just sellers. Under their new law, pot-smokers will be treated like cows.

“Right now, every cow, 13 million of them, are registered here,” Mujica said. “We know where they were raised, what they eat – we’re the only country that does that,” he said. “We are going to apply a process just like that to marijuana laws.”

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The reasoning behind compelling users to register with the state?

Mujica feels Colorado’s system will lack the circuit breakers needed to keep tabs on consumption, and see red flags if a person seems addicted or headed to addiction.

Someone needs to tell President Mujica the topic is marijuana, not heroin.

Requiring recreational users in the U.S. to register with the Government would just ensure the continued viability of the black market, so users could avoid identity checks. It may work in Uruguay where the Government is selling its own brand of pot for $1.00 a gram, but that's never going to happen here. Our federal government can't even take a stand on decriminalizing pot use -- it would take another century for the feds to agree to sell it (and forego taking a profit.) Plus, who wants the Government controlling production? Colorado's system, with its tight regulatory controls from seed to sale is far better.

What's behind his criticism of Colorado anyway? Wouldn't it be better for him to support Colorado's new law and work together for global reform?

6 plants, just under a pound a year is "allowed".
Boy that seems like a hard thing to enforce. Are people going to go to every house regularly and count the plants? Seems like it would be pretty easy to push those limits. I might guess they only want to make sure people are not growing to distribute. Ideally they would leave you alone to grown your own as needed. But who knows.

before their urge to regulate, to restrict, to codify every freak'n thing they can get their hands on.

I see it every week in the local political boards and commissions. Smaller issues but the M.O. is the same.

People who bill themselves as conservatives are as likely as lefties to fall all over themselves to pull rules and regs straight out of their a$$es, and if they can't find the words a consultant is there to help them out. Once in a while someone from one side or the other will pull back and ask if it's really necessary.